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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25513105">Son of Tain</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/sapphose/pseuds/sapphose'>sapphose</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Trek: Deep Space Nine</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 06:01:20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>893</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25513105</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/sapphose/pseuds/sapphose</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Tain notices his son for the first time, to Mila's dismay.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>62</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Son of Tain</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is a quick thing that I wrote, because the idea came into my head and wouldn't go away. Side note, has anyone noticed that Elim is almost Mila backwards?</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It began when Elim served kanar to Tain and guests in the study.</p>
<p>Or perhaps it began earlier, when Tain hired Mila. Or even earlier than that, during Tain’s childhood, whatever made him the person he would become. Perhaps one might blame Tain’s parents, if one knew who they were. Mila never did.</p>
<p>But Mila blamed it all on the moment with the kanar. She had tried to keep Elim out of Enabran’s way as much as she could. It was what Tain had demanded, but more than that, it was the best way she knew to keep Elim safe.</p>
<p>She should have known it could never be a safe house for a child.</p>
<p>She wouldn’t have sent him upstairs at all, but the pot of zabu stew was boiling and the ikri buns were about to burn and Tain would never forgive her if he were embarrassed by the meal given to his guests. So Elim went to the study instead of her.</p>
<p>Tain was playing kotra, against some gul or councilor. Mila didn’t try to keep them all straight. The less she knew about Enabran’s business, the better. If he came home bleeding, she patched him up and did not ask questions. If he gave her a packet of powder to put in the glass of the guest seated three seats to his left at the dinner table, she did so and made sure she never saw the man’s face. That was her real value, and she knew it; her ability to keep a secret.</p>
<p>Elim had been given very strict instructions. He was to bring up the bottle from the cellar, pour, and leave, without saying anything.</p>
<p>She knew he could do the first three. It was the last one that was always destined to get him into trouble.</p>
<p>He lingered, watching the game. He had never played kotra.</p>
<p>One of the guests, watching, made some kind of flattering, insinuating remark, about seeing two geniuses at work. The others agreed.</p>
<p>And Elim said, without any of the deference a serving boy should show, “But Tain’s obviously going to win.”</p>
<p>That garnered a laugh. It could have been worse, Mila supposed, when she learned of it later. They could have been angry. But they laughed, so Enabran did too. And they made patronizing comments, <em>how loyal </em>the boy was to his master (ignoring that he was so disrespectful as to not use an honorific or a title).</p>
<p>Elim shook his head vehemently. He didn’t like to be laughed at.</p>
<p>“He <em>is</em> going to win. He’s going to take your north corner in three moves.”</p>
<p>The laughter stopped, then. And the minister (or was it a gul after all?) looked down at the board and saw what Tain was going to do.</p>
<p>Tain spoke mildly to Elim, then. He was always mild, always affable, even when he was slitting your throat.</p>
<p>“Don’t you have work downstairs?”</p>
<p>Elim obeyed, retreating. Tain watched.</p>
<p>He didn’t do more, not yet, but it was enough. Mila couldn’t protect Elim, after that. No one could be protected from Enabran’s eyes.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tain came down to the cellar for kanar himself, the next time. He did so with such rarity that Mila wasn’t prepared, didn’t have enough time to tell Elim to be somewhere else. She never could figure out, afterwards, why Enabran had done it, instead of ringing for her.</p>
<p>She didn’t see him at first, too busy scolding Elim, who was not looking at all contrite but rather petulant and stubborn. Mila tried not to recognize the set of his jaw.</p>
<p>“What’s the boy done, then?” came that voice from behind her, and she was quick to excuse.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry if it disturbed you, I was just-”</p>
<p>“He can tell me himself. He’s big enough.”</p>
<p>The worst thing that could happen. Mila held her breath as Enabran looked at Elim.</p>
<p>“What did you do to get your mother so upset?”</p>
<p>Mila didn’t believe in gods, but she found herself praying.</p>
<p>Elim didn’t look scared. If only he feared Tain. That would have been safer.</p>
<p>“She’s angry I got her red leaf tea,” the child complained.</p>
<p>“Don’t lie,” Mila said sharply. There was no helping anyone who lied to Tain.</p>
<p>But Enabran only looked amused.</p>
<p>“Why would she be angry?”</p>
<p>“Because I didn’t pay for it.”</p>
<p>“You stole?” Enabran’s voice was quiet. That was never a good sign.</p>
<p>Elim stood his ground.</p>
<p>“<em>No</em>. I told Hovat if he didn’t give it to me then I’d tell his mother where he goes when he’s supposed to be minding the store.”</p>
<p>“Where does this Hovat go?”</p>
<p>“To see Telak.”</p>
<p>Mila gripped his arm too hard.</p>
<p>“What have I told you about spying, Elim?”</p>
<p>“I wasn’t spying. I was noticing,” was the unrepentant rejoinder.</p>
<p>It was always going to be his mouth that got him into trouble.</p>
<p>Tain chuckled.</p>
<p>“Tell me more about this noticing, Elim.”</p>
<p>He had never called his son by name before.</p>
<p>“I hope you aren’t going to encourage this,” Mila said before she could stop herself. Enabran looked at her with gentle danger in his eyes.</p>
<p>“We do what we must for Cardassia,” he said simply.</p>
<p>So that it was it, then. Elim’s fate, decided so easily. He would become Enabran’s son.</p>
<p>If the kanar in the study was the beginning, this moment felt like the end.</p>
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